HC5E Lesson B1-1

Horticultural
Plant Classification

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Taxonomy:
Identifying and
naming organisms
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In the 1700s, Carl

von Linné (Linnaeus), a
Swedish botanist,
created a classification
system for minerals,
plants, and animals.
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Five Kingdoms

 In1969, Robert Whittaker

proposed five kingdoms:
1. Prokaryotae
2. Protista
3. Fungi
4. Plantae
5. Animalia
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Other classification
systems include a seven
kingdom classification
system put forth in
2015.

Hierarchy of biological classification

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What is hierarchical?
Organisms are placed in an order or rank.
 The number of plants in
each rank lessens as one
moves from kingdom to
species.
 Classification is based on A mnemonic phrase
that can be used to
the degree to which recall the taxonomic
organisms are related and groups is “King Philip
depends largely on the cried, ‘Oh, for goodness
morphology of organisms. sake.”
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What is morphology?
the study of the internal and external
appearance of an organism
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Those are further subdivided.

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What is pterophyta?

Pterophyta is a class that includes the ferns, which are

vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seed.

Leatherleaf fern is commonly used in floral design work.

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What is there to learn about pterophyta?

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Gymnosperm is a taxonomic class of plants that

produce seeds that are not enclosed in an ovary.
Most gymnosperms
reproduce using a
structure called a cone.
A conifer is a
gymnosperm that
produces cones.
Conifer leaves are
usually needles or
scales.
Examples of conifers are firs,
pines, spruces, and cedars.
Most conifers are evergreens.
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Gymnosperms

 An evergreen is a plant that retains its leaves all year.

However, some conifers are deciduous.
 Deciduous means dropping leaves in the fall. Examples of
deciduous conifers are larch, dawn redwood, and
baldcypress.
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Angiosperm is a taxonomic class of plants that have

flowers and that have seeds
enclosed in fruits (ripened ovaries).
Angiosperms
produce seeds that
develop within an
ovary.
Two subclasses:
 Monocotyledonae

All the major food crops  Dicotyledonae

are angiosperms.
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Angiosperms
Green Single cotyledon

A monocotyledon
(monocot) is a
member of the
subclass of flowering
plants with embryos
that have a single
cotyledon.
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Angiosperms
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Angiosperms
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What is nomenclature?
a system of naming organisms

For example, serviceberry, shadbush, and juneberry all refer to

Amelanchier, a small ornamental tree. A common name may also refer to
more than one type of plant. Snowball bush is a common name given to a
type of viburnum and a type of hydrangea.
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Plant Nomenclature

 Perhaps Carl von Linné’s

greatest contribution to
science is the binomial
A scientific name is a
system of nomenclature. Latinized binomial
 Every plant is given name consisting of
a unique scientific name in the genus and the
addition to whatever specific epithet or
common name it might species.
have.
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Plant Nomenclature

A genus is a group of closely

related organisms composed of one
or more species.
 Plants with the same genus are more Red oak (Quercus
similar to one another than to plants of rubra)
other genera.
 The generic name of a plant is written
with an initial capital letter and
underlined or italicized.
white oak
Red oak and white oak share the same (Quercus alba)
genus but are different species.
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Plant Nomenclature
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Plant Nomenclature

 Acer saccharum is known in different parts of the

United States as sugar maple, rock maple, and hard
maple.
 Scientific names are specific and remain the same
throughout the world.

The sugar maple may be

called a different common
name in different parts of the
country, the plant is
recognized as Acer saccharum
everywhere on Earth.

The binomial system of naming plants reduces confusion. No two organisms have the same scientific name.
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What is a variety?
A cultivated plant within a species that shows a significant
difference from other plants in the species
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What is a cultivar?
A plant that has a characteristic distinguishing it from the other
plants in the species but does not transfer that characteristic to
its offspring through sexual reproduction
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Plant Life Cycle

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Three Plant Life Cycles

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Annual Life Cycle

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Summer Annual Food Crops

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More Annuals

Annual garden plants Weed plants

Petunias Ragweed
Impatiens Pigweed
Marigolds Lambsquarter
Zinnias Crabgrass

A plant that completes its life cycle within one year or within
one growing season is an annual.
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Biennialcycle
Biennial Life
Cycle
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Biennials

Biennials include
hollycocks
Sweet Williams
parsley
beets
carrots
Hollyhocks are biennials.

A biennial is a plant that normally requires two growing seasons to

produce flowers and seed before dying.
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Perennials
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Perennials
An herbaceous perennial  The shoots of
is a perennial plant that has herbaceous perennials
no persistent woody stem typically die back to the
above the ground. ground each winter.

 The roots and crowns of

herbaceous perennial
 Strawberries
plants survive and send
 Asparagus
up new shoots in the
 Peonies
 Irises
spring.
 Purple coneflowers
 Beebalm
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Perennials
A woody perennial is  Secondary growth gives
a perennial plant that woody perennials the
produces secondary ability to grow in girth
growth that persists year and height.
after year.  Theoretically increase in
size indefinitely
 Pines
 May flower and produce
 Grapes seeds every year for
 Walnuts many years
 Maples  Dormant in winter
 Rhododendrums months
 Viburnums  Growth in spring months
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Assess what you’ve learned

1. What is plant taxonomy?

2. What are the major taxonomic groups?

3. What is nomenclature?

4. What is a scientific name?

5. How are plants classified?

6. What are the three plant life cycles?